German High Court Sides Against Smoking Ban
Europeans have always been known as smokers, and Europe their happy bastion. That latter reputation has, of course, suffered mightily over the last 5-10 years, as countries from France to Ireland have limited or banned smoking in restaurants and bars.
Is this nannying tide against smoking an overwhelming inevitability? Maybe. But as events in Germany indicate, there may be a sliver of reason to hope not.
Germany’s top court upheld complaints Wednesday against anti-tobacco laws in two states, in a ruling with broad implications for a country once seen as a smokers’ paradise.
The Federal Constitutional Court said clauses of laws in the city-state of Berlin and the southwestern region in Baden-Wuerttemberg were unconstitutional because they threatened the livelihood of owners of small bars and clubs.
The six-to-two ruling means that customers in one-room bars and discotheques in the two states can keep lighting up until at least the end of 2009.
More here. Small steps in the right direction closer to home here.
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Cigars
